"A world elsewhere"?

Simultaneously alluding to difference and sameness, the
phrase "a world elsewhere" is an apt metaphor for Canada in
relation to Shakespeare, a variant of Northrop Frye's now
commonplace phrase, "Where is here?" ñthe question of
cultural coordinates. Is Canada the Corioles of immigrants
fleeing from somewhere else? And if Canada is the
"elsewhere," where, then, is the "centre"? Is Britain the
locus of tradition and value? New York? Paris? Kyiv? Beijing?
Or is the centre, in fact, really here: in St. John's,
Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton? Shakespeare or
Chaurette? How and where do the worlds of theatre,
literature, value, politics, and nation intersect?

Since the early nineteenth century, in many parts of Europe
(East and West), and throughout the world, Shakespeare has
been intimately bound up with issues of cultural nationalism
and colonialism; of the centrality of the classics and their
relationship to local culture. The late twentieth century has
been preoccupied with dismissing notions of a "universal"
Shakespeare who has easily, it seems, permeated a myriad of
cultures. Post-colonial critique in particular has attacked
the notion of a transcendent Shakespeare able to speak across
centuries and across continents. At the same time, political
theorists have begun to re-assess concepts and typologies of
nationalism. In the international dialogue now developing
between Shakespeare and post-colonial studies, Canada
occupies the unusual but fascinating position of a
first-world settler colony with a multicultural national
community, a high standard of living, and the persistent
remnants of what Australians term a "cultural cringe."

As long ago as 1964, Herbert Whittaker, the Globe and
Mail drama critic, noted that, in a then recent edition
of a reference book about Shakespeare, the entry on Canadian
Shakespeare not only was exceedingly brief, but also began in
1949, making no reference to its lengthy genealogy in Canada.
Nor has the situation much improved since. Not even most
Canadians are aware that Shakespeare has had a long and
complex history in this country. Often employed as a bulwark
against other "undesirable" traditions or cultures,
Shakespeare has served in Canada in many capacities: as
protector and symbol of high art; as morally-edifying
theatre; as an ally of solid British values; and as a tool of
anglicization, among others. He has been the subject of
mockery, parody, rewriting; at times, he has elicited simple
indifference. In the twenty-first century, these attitudes to
Shakespeare are complicated by his relocation in an
increasingly globalized world in which culture is commodified
and homogenized. Today, Shakespeare is a formidable cultural
force whose influence seems to show increasing strength
rather than signs of waning. But it was not always thus. His
authority and centrality have been promoted by the combined
forces of his entrenchment in the canons of high and low
culture, of the literary academy and of the often more
boisterous stage. Reinforced by adaptations, re-writings and
especially parodies, Shakespeare reigns supreme as one of
Canada's pre-eminent playwrights. But how unique a creation
is Shakespeare in this country? Is Canadian Shakespeare an
imitation or a mere variant of Anglo-American Shakespeare?
What is the place of Shakespeare in Canadian culture? In the
Canadian mythos? Can a Canadian Shakespeare be possible if
Canadians can't agree on what "Canadian" is or what a
"nation" is?"